Light has a fundamental impact on our sense of well-being and performance. In cooperation with Zumtobel, a supplier of lighting solutions, Fraunhofer IAO has launched a global user survey of lighting quality in offices. The objective is to identify the best lighting conditions for a variety of spaces and lighting situations.

As we move through the darker winter months, many people become aware of the impact that light – or too little light – can have on their well-being, performance and concentration. The less daylight we see, the quicker we become tired. And in office environments our eyes also have to cope with a huge variety of different visual stimuli every single day.

Choosing the right light becomes a crucial issue at times of the year when we need artificial light throughout most of the day. But what lighting situations do individuals really prefer for different activities and spaces? And how much does this vary in different work environments and parts of the world?

Fraunhofer IAO is collaborating with Zumtobel to find answers to these questions. The aim of the global, multilingual lighting study is to ask numerous different users to evaluate perceived lighting quality in different office situations. The results should provide a meaningful picture of what kind of light is most suitable for different people in different situations.

The study has been designed to focus in particular on the following key questions:

- What distinguishes office lighting quality as actually perceived by an employee? - What factors affect this assessment in each individual case? - What progress has been achieved by attempts to create good visual and lighting conditions in our offices?

If you would like to contribute to improving lighting quality in offices, you can take part in our survey anytime up until spring 2014. Filling out the online questionnaire and assessing various room and lighting situations takes no more than about 10 minutes. If you like you can also choose to receive an e-mail summarizing the survey results.

By taking part you will be supporting the “Light for the World” organization. For every completed questionnaire, Zumtobel will be donating 3 euros to the organization which helps people in poverty-stricken areas recover their sight through eye operations.

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